Friday, March 16, 2012

See it through.

*You may fail, but fall still fighting; Don't give up, whate'er you do; Eyes front, head high to the finish. See it through! Edgar Albert Guest*

Those are the words from the poet Edgar Albert Guest. There are times when one feels like quitting and trying against the odds seems invain. There are times when failure stares into the eyes, mocking fun at all the efforts one has made, because one could have genuinely done better and differently. There are times when the world around you seems a neverending grind and toil till the end. And if one can listen to what many have called the inner self or heart, there comes a voice asking to give it a one more try. It says to get on your feet, shirk away the dust, hold the troubles by its horn and confront it.

All of us face situations like these and more so people who have listened to their heart and did things on their own. And every one has a way to see it through. Entrepreneurs like me look upto people like Gary Erickson ( founder of Clif Bar), Steve Jobs (The period in which he was not a rockstar, between 85 to 98), Jason Frieds of 37 Signals and Narayan Murthy ( Founder of Infosys). Organizations look upto other organizations who have made great comebacks like Apple, Campbell Soups, Chrysler, Ford and our very own Mindtree Consulting ( Based out of Bangalore).

I draw a lot of inspiration from the work of Wieden & Kennedy. They are a group of people who have taken advertising to the next level, or with my understanding I would like to call it an artform. It is known to everyone how they had establieshed Nike with 'Just Do It' campaign. Recently they have been doing amazing work for Chrysler Corporation, which owns iconic brands like Dodge and Jeep. I am studying how does W+K take a brand and distill the messaging for the world. It's craftsmanship off the highest order. I am sharing one TVC for Chrysler 300 in which the theme is to confront the failure. They have also used the peome by Edgar Albert Guest. See the video, read the poem and get inspired.

When you're up against a trouble, Meet it squarely, face to face; Lift your chin and set your shoulders, Plant your feet and take a brace. When it's vain to try to dodge it, Do the best that you can do; You may fail, but you may conquer, See it through! Black may be the clouds about you And your future may seem grim, But don't let your nerve desert you; Keep yourself in fighting trim. If the worst is bound to happen, Spite of all that you can do, Running from it will not save you, See it through!

Even hope may seem but futile, When with troubles you're beset, But remember you are facing Just what other men have met. You may fail, but fall still fighting; Don't give up, whate'er you do; Eyes front, head high to the finish. See it through! Edgar Albert Guest